Sony Announces The All New Xperia SP and Xperia L

Sony has announced that it will be adding two new devices to their current Xperia line up of smart phones, named Sony Xperia SP and Xpeira L. If Sony does continue with the current trend of naming devices we may soon find then falling short of the letters! 🙂

For now, the two devices take heavy design cues from the Sony Xperia Z launched earlier this year at CES. With the launch of both Xperia SP as well as Xperia L Sony has its eyes firmly set at targeting the mid range market segment.

The Director of Xperia Marketing Calum MacDougall said of the two devices:

“Xperia SP and Xperia L are ideally suited for those seeking stylish class-leading smartphones that don’t compromise on features. Both of our new models benefit from Sony’s proven innovation and engineering expertise – whether you want to enjoy premium HD quality entertainment over 4G LTE on our mid-range Xperia SP or capture every moment in perfect detail with our more affordable Xperia L”

Sony Xperia SP:

The Sony Xperia SP offers 4.6 inch 720 P display which utilizes the Sony Mobile Bravia Engine 2 to deliver amazing picture quality. The device is powered by a dual core 1.7 GHz Snapdragon S4 Processor and would ship with Android version 4.1 (JellyBean) out of the box. The Camera on board is a 8 MP shooter. Battery on the Xperia SP is rated at 2370 mAh.

Sony Xperia SP would be available in variety of colors such as Black, Red and White. The device also features a unique color changing transparent element at the bottom of the screen which can glow in different colors depending upon the user’s setting, type of notification or simply the music being played on the device. This feature was first seen in the Xperia U and whether you like it or not, is much a personal opinion.

Look wise, Sony is one of the few companies after Apple, HTC and Nokia that really care about their hardware designs. The Xperia SP has a supreme design and the phone looks pretty identical to the Xperia Z with similar design characteristics without the use of glass. In fact the Xperia SP is made out of Aluminium Casing for superior looks and rigidity. The power lock unlock button too on the side reminds us that the device is from the same family of design as the Xperia Z.

The only short coming of the device is that it would ship with just 8 GB internal memory and only 5.8 GB available to the user, but you do get the option of expansion through a Micro SD Card upto 32 GB. Sony Xperia SP does support LTE and NFC. Rest of the Sony applications such as Walkman, Album and Movies for easy access to both offline and online content are available on the device. Also included is the Battery “Stamina” mode which helps in optimizing the battery of the device and earned positive reviews when used on Sony Xperia Z.

Sony Xperia L:

The Sony Xperia L is a low end Android device for users who do not want to shell out too much money for their smart phone. The phone packs a “ExmorRS for Mobile” sensor Technology for better clarity and vividness of colors. Sony is banking upon the 8 MP Camera of the device to make the device a hit and stand out performer in the low end Android market. The Camera on the device has HDR which allows for clear images and videos even in low light conditions.

The display on the device is a 4.3 inch display with a resolution of 854 x 480. The device just like the Xperia SP comes with 8 GB internal memory with 5.8 GB user accessible and further expansion up to 32 GB possible with the help of a Micro SD card. The processor on the Xperia L is a Qualcomm Dual Core 1 GHz MSM8230.

As compared to the 155 g of Xperia SP, the Xperia L weighs only 137 g and the design reminds us a lot about the Xperia J. Xperia L comes with Android 4.1 out of the box but there is no LTE, only 3G on board. The battery on Xperia L is 1750 mAh.

Both the devices are expected to be out in the market by the Q2 in Europe and Asia which would mean around June/July. Though no price range has been announced, we do expect Sony to aggressively price both the devices since they are targeted towards the emerging market.